On the battlefields of World War II, the men of the African-American 761st Tank Battalion under General Patton proved themselves as tough, reliable, and determined to fight as any tank unit in his command. From November 1944 they engaged the enemy for 183 straight days, spearheading many of Patton's offensives at the Battle of the Bulge and in six European countries. No other unit fought for so long and so hard without respite. Charles Sasser—a former combat journalist with the navy and a Green Beret for the army—chronicles how the 761st defeated more than 6,000 enemy soldiers, captured 30 towns, liberated Jews from concentration camps, and made history as the first African-American armored unit to enter the war.

"Journalist Sasser, a veteran of both the army and the navy, retells the story of the first 'colored' (the term in use at the time) armored unit allowed to enter combat, where it spearheaded Patton's drives, defeated more than 6,000 German soldiers, and liberated concentration camps. The unit's story, like the story of any 'first,' is also that of the enemies on their own side—the hatred and prejudice that had, for half a century, deliberately consigned colored military personnel to do the work no one else wanted to do. Stylistically, Sasser adopts the storyteller's approach, following various men and officers of the battalion from their homes, through training, and finally into combat in a Europe that is fast departing living memory. Much of the dialogue Sasser uses is constructed, of course, but it is convincing. Though not the first study of the 761st, this highly readable book is one of the best."—Booklist